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Right now, leaves are rustling due to a nice, cool, dry breeze, the windows are open in my always-ever-locked house, and I am enjoying what feels like the very first taste of autumn. When I walk outside, I’m not immediately suffocated by heat and humidity, and there are very few biting bugs flying around (always a good day when this happens in Florida).

It also happens to be a Monday, a day when I’m usually working at school. But today was a “virtual planning day” per our lovely contract, which allowed me to finish my report cards, or do anything else teacher-y (like cut out paper pumpkins), in my sweatpants.

All in thanks to Matthew.

No, I’m not talking about my husband’s many family members of that name (on my side it’s Bob, and I think the Bobs still win that rodeo). I’m talking about the crazy, high-intensity, slow-as-a-freaking-snail hurricane that crawled its way through north Florida a few days ago.

Thinking back to those rare times when public school actually got cancelled for things, I’ve seen the gamut. I’ve had a fire day (thank you SoCal wildfires), a wind day, snow days, a tsunami day (that was a crazy phone call to wake up to), and now Florida has gifted my very first hurricane days.

Growing up mostly in the Southwest, I had never been in a proper hurricane before. But let me tell you, it’s an event. The prep alone was beyond stressful – moving all the patio furniture to the garage, securing the house, digging through all the camping equipment to find white gas stoves and lanterns. With my parents’ help, we got it all done which made me feel prepared – and proud. I was stocked with water and ice (I bought the last 4 bags at the grocery store, thank you very much), lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and dried/canned/preserved goods to last a long, potential power outage. And of course I also bought the absolute essentials for any long, drawn out, stressful event: chardonnay and pumpkin donuts.

I was ready.

The storm was what it was. A storm. Big, loud, mean, wet, wild, windy, and everything a person might imagine a hurricane to be. I was scared, nervous, and at times peaceful as my family and I sat in pajamas watching continued news reports. There was nothing else to do.

But eat.

What a fabulous excuse a hurricane is for eating junk food! I thought it was just us with our chardonnay and donuts – oh, and beanie weenie casserole – but the grocery store trip afterwards showed us what people really thought was important.

So funny, because despite our little junk food splurge, we also made a conscious effort to make sure some nutrition did make its way into our bodies, basically to give us the right kind of energy and lack of mental lethargy to face whatever it was that we needed to face with this storm (again, our first major hurricane, folks).

My mom whipped up what she ended up calling the Hurricane Salad. It was really just a veggie salad full of ingredients that are health-wise important: mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, soy beans, cucumber, celery, corn, and a simple ranch dressing. That was it. But boy did it hit the spot. We ate it for two days.

With only some chopping, it literally took a few minutes to assemble and a fantastic dinner salad was ready.

Now, you definitely don’t need a hurricane to make this salad. In fact, let’s hope you don’t have a hurricane to enjoy this salad. But, it would be great as a take-along dish (dressing separate), easy lunch, fast dinner, or anything else in between.

People – oh those proverbial “people” – always say that something good comes out of something negative. However, I wouldn’t call this salad good. I’d call it delicious! (Too cheesy? Oh, some cheese would be good on the salad too!)

Try it – sans storms – and let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

(Feel free to use your favorite ranch dressing here – and ranch really is the best for this salad, I think. But here’s my recipe for a good homemade version that will last you and your favorite salads all week.)

Hurricane Salad

This salad is completely flexible. Add or subtract as much or as little as you want. So it can easily be a single serving, or enough to feed a crowd. Just toss together the following ingredients: mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, soy beans (cooked, I boil mine), cucumber, celery, and corn (cooked or raw). Sprinkle a bit of s&p, and serve with the dressing on the side (to appease any finicky pourers).

Homemade Ranch(makes 1 pt)

Finely mix together 1/2 tsp dried oregano, pinch of ground thyme, 1/8 tsp celery seed, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and s&p to taste. Use a mortar and pestle to mix (this makes more spice mix than you need- great for chicken, shrimp, or a olive oil dip). Then pour 1 tsp of the spice mixture into a bowl with 1 c mayo, 1 c Greek yogurt, and juice of 1 lemon. Mix and taste for seasoning.

Recently our household has turned a little cartoonish. But in a good way. There are no anvils dropping out of the sky, and Tom and Jerry aren’t making appearances, but I am having long conversations with my dog – and he’s talking back.

Don’t tell me all you dog owners don’t do it. Whether you want to admit it or not, dog owners talk to their dogs way beyond the sit, stay, come commands. They share secrets, they vent, and they talk about what so-and-so unbelievably and outrageously said about another so-and-so behind their back. Continue reading →

We are back now from all our traveling, relaxed, and yes, a bit more tan. Expecting to come back to the frigid Oregon Coast summertime winds, we have actually had quite a few days of beautiful sun, mild weather, and gentle breezes. It has been more than pleasant, and Rob and I are taking advantages of the best of it. The many hikes, lead to long days, sometimes not even showering until mid afternoon (it’s not gross, it’s “natural”). We’ve been doing some small entertaining, enjoying close friends in intimate conversation over simply good food.

One of the things I will miss the most come our goodbye next summer, will be the amazing Oregon produce. Wow, this place has got it down. The berries are incredible, and our CSA farm basket (yielding not only great zucchini and greens, but inspired the cheeky name for this blog), has been overflowing our crisper. It’s awesome.

Through the lazy days of summer (and I do mean lazy… Sig is snoring under the table at the moment), I have enjoyed cooking from my roots – simple, easy, tasty dishes celebrating the greatness of food. We’ve kept some staples in the house: herbed chicken salad (above), blueberry sauce, white bean puree (a great companion for blanched green beans), good quality mayo (for the healthy shmear on a ripe summer tomato), pluots and blueberries for cold, sparkling sangria, and most recently vegetable cream cheese. With the tons of veg we’ve been getting, combined with our undying and unconditional love of bagels and cream cheese, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner. Super simple, incredibly flavorful, and a fantastic way to get some raw veg into the system first thing in the morning.

Right now, I’m waiting for some overripe peaches (there are always a couple in a lug – why waste?) to do their infusing magic with some vodka, anticipating a ginger peach cordial sometime in the next couple of days.

With albacore swimming like crazy right now, one found it’s loin on my dinner plate, grilled with lime, brown sugar, smoked salt, and served with a simple lime balsamic dressing.

And with so many beautiful zucchinis around, a tart was just calling out to me (with a fried egg, oui chic!)

Today’s farmer’s market yielded beautiful blackberries, and the juices are already flowing (no pun) as to what to make next. Suggestions are welcome. 🙂

Vegetable Cream Cheese (makes 8 oz)

8 oz room temperature cream cheese (I used the “whipped” kind; it made incorporating the ingredients very easy)

1 medium carrot, peeled

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 small zucchini

2-3 scallions, white and light green parts only

a handful of parsley

s&p

This requires some patience chopping, but chop all the veg into a very small dice. First, make thin slices, then slice again into matchsticks. Then, line up the pieces, chopping them across to make very small pieces. HERE’S A TRICK: with the carrot, use the vegetable peeler to make the thin slices, and then continue cutting from those “peeled” slices. It’s much easier than trying to keep a I-want-to-be-free-and-roll-all-over-the-place carrot still.

Chop the scallion into thin slices, and chop the parsley until fairly fine.

Mix all the veg and herbs into the cream cheese, and season with s&p. Depending on the brand of cream cheese you use, you may not need much salt.

Generously spread on a freshly toasted bagel, lick the excess off your fingers, add more to the bagel once you realize how great it is, and enjoy!

**The longer the cream cheese mixture sits, the more incorporated the vegetable flavors become. The second, third, fourth days are the best – if it lasts that long.